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to short

to short

22 8.2
Cause an accidental connection in wires that makes a device stop working
  • verb
  • /ʃɔrt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : provocar un cortocircuito
  • He accidentally shorted the wires together, causing the lights to flicker and go out.
  • short the circuit
  • short out the wiring
  • short out a wire

Examples

  • Local press blames the entire thing on faulty wiring shorted out by a late-season storm.

    Blog text (27)
  • So to test that I have some salt water here to short my live wires and create some arc hopefully.

  • If you try too early and it shorts, your phone is dead.

    Blog text (9)
  • But there is one way on YouTube at least to short circuit this effect.

  • I suppose I can plug it in and short the fuse and just make sure that it works.

  • And if I go here, you can see it is shorted there.

  • Okay, if we can short out the firewall, I can...

  • The car is shorting out.

  • Wind-driven rain entering a home can short out wiring and cause a fire.

    Blog text (6)
  • Upon inspection, I also noticed that one of the ground wires had shorted out and cooked itself.

    Blog text (21)

Synonyms

to short-circuit
vsto short
  • Specialized
1 5.6

Make electricity flow along the wrong path and damage the device

emphasizes damaging or malfunctioning outcome rather than the bypass mechanism

Idioms

115 2.8

To give only the main facts

To say that something is exactly as said to show strong feeling

For a short time without thinking about long-term effects

18 3.4

Shows people use a shorter name or phrase instead of the full one

With very little time to prepare

Very quickly without delay

short and sweet
  • Informal
12 4.0

Quick and pleasant without extra detail, often about a talk or message

11 3.3

Not having enough time to do what you need

8 7.1

To get a worse or unfair result than others

on a short leash
  • Informal
7 7.7

Kept under strict control with little freedom

6 6.2

To be chosen by chance to do an unpleasant task

short shrift
  • Informal
6 8.4

Little attention paid to something that shows it is not taken seriously

A person who is not very smart or sensible

9.9

To keep someone tightly controlled so they have little choice

The final careful stage of a task when you do the small details

To end up by chance with an unpleasant task or in a worse position

To stop wasting time being unhappy and enjoy life

To call someone not smart to insult them

A person who is a little foolish or not very smart

To tell someone to go away in a rude, angry way

9.9

A little bit crazy and not thinking clearly

Not very sensible or aware of simple things

A sudden end that causes death or total ruin

Not long enough to reach what is needed

Feeling tired and weak

short on looks
  • Informal
6.7

Not attractive to look at

Phrasal Verbs

67 3.5

Stop something earlier than planned

64 3.9

Fail to reach the level people expect

To not reach the level people expect

14 3.7

To have very little of something left

to short-change
  • Informal
5 7.0

Give someone less money than they should get

4 4.4

To finish something quickly and with little effort

to sell short
  • Specialized
3 8.1

To sell stocks you do not own hoping to buy them back at a lower price

Stop someone suddenly, often during speech or action

Fail to reach what is needed or expected

To stop suddenly before you expect it

To think a person or thing cannot do as much as they really can

To stop something before it finishes

To give good results quickly

Compounds

short story
  • Literature
105 2.3

A short piece of writing that focuses on one event or idea

38 3.7

A list of chosen people from a larger group for final selection

27 4.1

Lasting for a short time, not long-term

short-term memory
  • Specialized
22 3.9

The ability to remember things for a short time

14 3.8

Working only over a small distance

short leash
  • Informal
12 5.7

Close control of someone that allows them little freedom

11 2.7

A cut of beef from the ribs near the breastbone often cooked slowly

short sale
  • Specialized
8 5.6

Selling a house for less than the amount owed on the mortgage with the bank's agreement

7 1.0

A sleeve that goes from the shoulder to just above the elbow

There are too few workers to do the work well

short circuit
  • Specialized
5 4.2

An accidental electrical connection that lets electricity flow the wrong way and can cause damage or fire

5 1.0

Trousers ending above the knee that people wear in warm weather or for sports

5 3.4

A request for a quick simple meal in a diner

4 1.3

Having short hair, usually about people or animals

3 4.1

Getting angry or losing patience very quickly

3 3.9

Meals that cooks make and serve quickly in places like diners

3 1.8

A pair of light brown shorts for casual outdoor wear

3 8.1

A small school bus that carries students who need extra help

short selling
  • Specialized
3 6.6

Selling shares you do not own to buy them back later at a lower price to make a profit

2 6.5

A short film shown before the main movie in a cinema

2 3.5

A small pile of pancakes or other food for one person

short sale
  • Specialized
1 7.8

Selling shares you do not own to buy them back later at a lower price

short wave
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A radio wave that travels long distances and carries international broadcasts

short iron
  • Jargon
1 7.2

A golf club with a short shaft and angled face used for high, short shots

1 6.9

Grass that stays short and survives with little rain on dry open plains

short covering
  • Specialized
1 8.1

To buy back shares you sold expecting their price to fall to close that position

1 5.5

A quick way to divide numbers in your head with little writing

short line
  • Jargon
1 6.0

A small private train route that connects local towns to main railway lines

short loin
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A section of beef behind the ribs used to make porterhouse and T-bone steaks

1 7.2

A person who is leaving their job or service soon

short ton
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A unit of weight used in the United States equal to 2,000 pounds, about 907 kilograms

short vowel
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A vowel sound that you say for a short time

A job that lasts only a few weeks or months

short-term liability
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A debt that must be paid within one year

castling short
  • Specialized
8.6

In chess, moving the king two squares toward the kingside rook and placing that rook next to the king

chaddi short
  • Indian
9.9

Light shorts for swimming or playing, often worn by children in South Asia

chuck short ribs
  • Specialized
5.0

A piece of beef from near the shoulder with short bones and meat for slow cooking

A medium to large hunting dog with short hair from Germany

short bone
  • Specialized
6.0

A bone about as long as it is wide and thick, found in the wrist and ankle

short castle
  • Jargon
7.5

To move the king two squares toward its rook and put that rook beside the king

7.6

A chess move where the king moves two squares toward the kingside rook and that rook moves beside the king

short account
  • Specialized
8.8

An account with a broker that lets you sell stocks you do not own to buy back for less

short gastric artery
  • Specialized
5.3

A small blood vessel that carries blood from the artery near the spleen to the outer curve of the stomach

short hundredweight
  • Specialized
9.1

An American measure of weight equal to 100 pounds, about 45 kilograms

A vein that carries blood from the foot up the back of the leg to the knee

short whist
  • Archaic
9.9

A card game for four people in two teams where you win points by taking tricks, played to five points

An animal with a short beak

A bird with a short beak

A small North American bird with a short bill that lives in wet meadows

Having shorter ears than others of the same kind

3.8

Near its expiry date and likely to go bad soon

short-fetched
  • Archaic
8.9

Hard to believe because it lacks good proof

short-leaf pine
  • Specialized
7.4

A large pine tree with short needles that grows in the southern United States

5.5

A grasshopper with antennae shorter than its body that often eats plants and can damage crops

An animal or object that has a short, blunt nose

An animal with a nose shorter than others of the same kind

short-stemmed
  • Specialized
3.8

With a short stem, like some plants or flowers

short-stop bath
  • Specialized
9.6

An acidic liquid that stops film or paper from developing before fixing

short-stop
  • Specialized
9.9

A liquid used after developing film to stop the chemical reaction

short-spurred
  • Specialized
9.5

Having a small tube at the base of the petals

A wild flower like the fragrant orchid with smaller flowers, shorter stems, and very short spurs

short-stalked
  • Specialized
6.0

Having a short stem that keeps leaves or flowers close to the ground

short-staple cotton
  • Specialized
6.5

A kind of cotton with short fibers that people use to make coarse cloth

A large bird of prey with short toes that often hunts snakes

Breathing is difficult and you get out of breath after activity

A small North American animal with a tail less than half its body length

How Damaging

to destroy
1.0
to short
  • Specialized
22 8.2
to burn out
24 4.7
to trip
36 6.5

Surface Forms

short infinitive
shorted past
shorted past participle
shorting present participle
shorts third person singular

Etymology

Short as a verb for electric faults means to make that short path happen, so to short a circuit is to create the dangerous shorter route for the current.